Ford Apologizes for Violent Ads Depicting Kardashians

Ford Motors is apologizing for a distasteful ad featuring a caricature of the Kardashian sisters.In an India-based ad campaign for the new Ford Figo, Paris Hilton sits at the passenger seat of the car with Kim, Kourtney and Khloe ...

By TV Guide

Oakridger - Oak Ridge, TN

By TV Guide

Posted Mar. 27, 2013 at 6:32 PM

By TV Guide

Posted Mar. 27, 2013 at 6:32 PM

Ford Motors is apologizing for a distasteful ad featuring a caricature of the Kardashian sisters.

In an India-based ad campaign for the new Ford Figo, Paris Hilton sits at the passenger seat of the car with Kim, Kourtney and Khloe - all scantily clad - tied up in an open trunk. The tagline reads, "Leave Your Worries Behind." The other two ads, all of which were leaked, depict Italian politician Silvio Berlusconi with three latex-wearing girls in the back and German racecar driver Michael Schumacher paired with his rivals Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, and Lewis Hamilton.

The ads come on the heels of a new law the Indian Parliament passed last week that sets tougher penalties for rapists, criminalizing offenses like stalking, and for police officers who refuse to file a woman's complaint of rape.

In a statement to CNBC, Ford said, "We deeply regret this incident and agree with our agency partners that it should have never happened. The posters are contrary to the standards of professionalism and decency within Ford and our agency partners. Together with our partners, we are reviewing approval and oversight processes to help ensure nothing like this ever happens again."

Ford's ad agency, WPP, added, "We deeply regret the publishing of posters that were distasteful and contrary to the standards of professionalism and decency within WPP Group. These posters were never intended for paid publication and should never have been created, let alone uploaded to the Internet. This was the result of individuals acting without proper oversight and appropriate actions have been taken within the agency where they work to deal with the situation."